A clean sweep for the VC Baracchi time trial team

Mark Richards of Velo Club Baracchi club headed up a clean VCB sweep of the top three places in the club’s own 10-mile open time trial on Saturday, which he also organised.

His top ride was backed up by Liam Gentry and James Moore in second and third places and the three of them accordingly won the team prize for the club.

From the left, Richards, Gentry and Moore

The ten top times were Mark Richards 1 Mark Richards VCB 20:57, 2 Liam Gentry VCB 21:11, 3 James Moore VCB 21:30, 4 Lee Woodcock HKR XC Team 21:42, 5 Steve Konrad Great Yarmouth CC 21:44, 6 Nick Partridge Plomesgate CC 21:56, 7 Declan Davis CC Breckland 22:07, 8 John Bradbury CC Sudbury 22:10, 9 Darren Davis West Suffolk Wheelers & Triathlon Club 22:39, 10 Daniel Nichols Anglia Velo 22:43.

Gentry near the finish

James Moore

Other VCB times were Paul Hayward 23:14, Lucas He 23:31, David Loynes 24:52, Paul Reed 25:39 (PB), Mike Rainton 27:48, Richard Allen 29:24 and, on the tandem, John Swanbury and Ali Banks 23:38. It was Rainton’s first “10” since 2013 and his club-mates thought it a strong showing.

Lucas He

Dave Loynes

Richard Allen

Other local riders included Rock Estate’s James Drake 23:29, Joe Drake 24:21, Mark Drake 24:31, Jim Keeble 25:13 and Tracy Youngman 26:32.

At the start at Earsham the rain held off for most of the 42 starters, but sooner or later the riders met rain on the way to the Redenhall roundabout.  It followed them back down the road so that by time the last riders finished they had received a soaking most of the way around.

Richards paid tribute to all the help he had received from the club members and friends in staging the event, including marshals and the timekeepers, Peter and Pam Milner of Godric CC, who were sitting in a pool of rain water in their chairs by the end of the event.  Despite the weather one rider described the event as “curiously enjoyable.”

The second local time trial of the weekend was Godric CC’s open 25-mile event on Sunday morning up and down the same stretch of the A143, turning twice at “Chicken” roundabout.

Richards took second place with 55:26 between the two Team VeloVelocity riders Daniel Bloy (52:48) and Paul Jay (55:44).

Other VCB times were Moore, fifth in 57:01, Paul Hayward 1-02:27, Rainton 1-14:15 and Swanbury and Banks on the tandem 1-00:02.  Rainton’s ride was his first “25” since 2012.  Lucas He started but a puncture ended his ride.

In sunny weather, it was the northerly side-wind that the riders particularly noticed, which strengthened and veered slowly during the event.

John Thompson rode the Richard Ellis Memorial 210-km (131.25 miles) audax on Saturday from Dunmow, taking in Newport, Granchester, Hawstead and Mistley.  He said, “I got round in 13 hours 35 minutes, which is on the slow side.”

Thompson not only had to battle some riding in the dark, but he also snapped a gear cable that limited his gear choice on the Essex hills, though fortunately it happened after the worst of them.